Remember when timeout was punishment? When being forced to do absolutely nothing was a cruel way for our parents to teach us a lesson? It was right up there with mandated nap time.

Oh, how things change.

As I sit in my office today, I am forced into a timeout (of sorts). The rain we have been so desperately longing for in our drought-ravaged state has finally come – bringing with it hail, lightening and booming thunder. It only took about three minutes for the Internet and phone lines to go down, forcing me to slow my pace to what feels like a crawl.

Yes, I’m still being productive (as evidenced by this blog post), and I’m knocking out a few of the things that have been on my “to-do” list for a good couple of weeks, as pressing emails and urgent requests have pushed them to the bottom of the list. But things feel decidedly slower, and it is clearer than ever how hurried I usually am – and perhaps we all are.

Maybe the result of the recession – forcing us to maximize every moment, every resource – or maybe the product of a constantly-wired world – where iPhones and “Crackberries” are within arm’s reach at all times – we now live in a society where multi-tasking, uber-efficiency and constant reaction-mode have come to define the new norm.

Gone are the days when conversations had at the dinner table were limited to only the people sitting at that table; when driving was an opportunity to clear your mind rather than call everyone in your contact list; and when your son’s baseball game couldn’t be interrupted by work emails or calls.

But as I sit here, unable to send emails or answer phone calls except through my iPhone, which has only enough battery left to get me through the day, I am beginning to think that maybe I should do this more often – a weekly unplugged, uninterrupted timeout.

Sounds scary doesn’t it?

“What will my clients do without me?” “What if my boss needs something done THIS MINUTE, and I am offline?” “How can I trust my business will run smoothly if I’m not constantly available and continuously wired in?”

Trust me. It will all be fine.

I encourage you to put yourself in timeout today – even if it’s just for a few minutes. Give yourself some downtime. And enjoy it.

This blog was posted after power was restored, thus ending timeout.